WHAT TO EXPECT DURING A MASSAGE

To gain the most benefit from your massage please keep the following in mind:

If you exercise, plan to do it before the massage. A hot shower or hot tub after exercise helps flush cellular waste products from your skin so they don't get reabsorbed later and make you feel stiff or sore. It will also help you relax and warm your muscles before a massage.

Refrain from eating a large meal or having caffeine or alcohol immediately before or after a massage. Plan your activities the day of your appointment so that you can really take advantage of your relaxed feeling

You can receive a full-body massage best when you are not wearing clothing. You will be draped with a sheet or towel to cover the genitals and areas not being massaged. Please remove jewelry and accessories such as watches, necklaces, hair-clips, etc. Alert your therapist to any known allergies to oils or lotions typically used to perform the massage.

Your job is to relax completely, allowing your eyes to close and your breath to be full and easy. Exhale with a sigh to release tension. Feel your entire body becoming heavy and let it sink into the table. Allow yourself to be taken care of in the session. Let the therapist do any lifting or moving of your head and limbs for you. Be like a limp noodle!

Feel free to give feedback if the pressure is not just right, or if anything feels uncomfortable. Your therapist welcomes pertinent questions you may have. Sometimes emotion may surface. If it seems appropriate, you may wish you express that, resting in the assurance of confidentiality. General conversation is unnecessary and distracts you from your experience of the massage.

When the massage is finished, allow your self to rest on the table for a little while before slowly getting up. Come back to the activities of the world gently, letting the effects of the massage "soak in."

Bodywork is like passive exercise so, after your massage, you should shower or soak at some point in the day. End with a quick cold rinse on your feet, legs or over your whole body! It will stimulate circulation and make you feel relaxed and rejuvenated all at once.

And before you leave the therapist's studio, don't forget to schedule your next appointment. Regular bodywork assists in awareness of your habitual tension patterns and eliminating them!
Copyright 2003 Judy Heartsong